


Batman: The Long Winter, Episode 12: In The Belly of the Beast

by Anonymous



Series: Batman: The Long Winter [12]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:28:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28193223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Bruce continues to fight his way through the Cobblepot Shoe Factory and finally confronts Bane....
Series: Batman: The Long Winter [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2049048
Collections: Batman, BatmanFanfiction, Favorite Batman Fics, batman orignal characters





	Batman: The Long Winter, Episode 12: In The Belly of the Beast

EPISODE 12: In the Belly of the Beast  
Bruce emerged from the vents into what appeared to be the office level of the factory. Bruce rose to his feet after crawling out of a vent that sat just above the floor in a narrow, dimly lit hallway. Brown doors flanked Bruce on his left and right sides all of the way down the hall. There was not a light on in the hall, the only light coming in through the glass of the small windows that adorned each door. This allowed Bruce to barely see the end of the hallway. He noticed a fake plant in the corner near what looked to be the gold elevator. Now that he had his bearings, Bruce cautiously took a step forward. CLICK. Bruce looked down at his boot to see that the silencing sole had fallen off somewhere in the factory. He immediately checked the other boot to see that the other sole was still attached. Either way, his advantage of absolute silence was gone. Bruce now had to contend with a heavy boot that made noise with every step it took.  
He took another step in the direction of the elevator. Oswald’s men were not on this level as far as he could tell, just beige walls and fake green plants. Still not letting his guard down, Bruce continued to move closer towards the elevator until he heard a ding coming from the gold box. In an instant, Bruce kicked in one of the doors and dove into an office. There was not enough time to disappear back into the vents and he hoped that hiding in the small, crowded office would buy him enough time to think of a way out.  
The doors lurched open as an elevator full of eight men exited the machine, weapons in hand.  
“Look!” He heard one of them say. “The vent is busted, the bat has been here.”  
“And this door too!” Another shouted out from afar. Bruce weighed his options. He could make a break for it and take the elevator and hope that those gold doors were bulletproof. Or he could take down the eight men in the hall. But how? Bruce looked at the large stack of papers on the wooden desk and had an idea. His right hand shot towards his utility belt to retrieve a small lighter. He lit the corners of the page on the top of the stack on fire. Bruce held his breath as heard the footsteps of the men drawing nearer. Bruce noticed an antique kerosene lamp sitting on one of the three wooden desks in the room. He grabbed it and crouched in the back corner of the cramped office, hidden behind the desks and papers.  
“Do you guys smell something burning?” Another man said from the hallway.  
“Yeah. Open that door and see what’s going on.” The first man said. The door creaked open and a short man poked his head through.  
“There’s a fire in here! Somebody put it out!” The man shouted. Bruce heard three pairs of footsteps break away from the office and he saw the other five men enter the room. The blaze was still localized to the first desk, but it was growing quickly. Its flames began to lick the papers on the neighboring desks as the men tried to find the room’s fire extinguisher. In the heat of the panic, Bruce leapt from behind the desk and smashed the kerosene lamp onto one of the men. He screamed in pain as the fire began to eat away at his hair and clothes. Bruce landed punch after punch on the other men in the room, knocking them unconscious on the spot. Jaws cracked and shoulder blades snapped as Bruce unloaded his fury onto the men. Once the other men had been disposed of, Bruce grabbed the man that was ablaze and threw him into the hallway. Bruce reached for the fire extinguisher in the room and shot it all over the poor man. The man had lost nothing more than his clothes and half of his hair, but the experience left him in utter and complete shock. Bruce then heard the three men running towards him again. He stood directly in front of the door and landed a nose breaking kick onto the first man who arrived. Bruce then dove into the two men behind him, knocking loose their weapons. Bruce punched both directly in the face, slamming their heads into the hard stone floor beneath. Noting that the two men were unconscious, Bruce grabbed the fire extinguisher and put out the fire in the office. At this point nearly three of the four desks had received significant burn damage, but the rest of the floor was still intact. Bruce left the office and walked towards the elevator.  
He was stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of the same swaggering voice he had heard earlier in the evening.  
“Batman, you did not think I would just disappear, did you?” Bane said.  
“I believe Oswald may be paying you too much if I got away that easily.” Said Bruce. Bane grunted.  
“How dare you insult my work!” I will take you to Oswald myself.” Bane said as he began to run towards Bruce. Bruce smiled, bent his knees and tightened his hands into fists. He was ready for the fight of his life.  
Bane cocked his muscular right arm back to land a punch on Bruce. Having seen the motion develop, Bruce shifted to the left in order to dodge the blow. He did successfully and planted a kick on Bane’s back, forcing him to the ground. A loud grunt came from the man as he collided with the floor. Bruce spun around and prepared for his next advance. Bane quickly rose to his feet and slowly strode towards Bruce, his arms bouncing in front of his face. Bane’s right arm once again shot out towards Bruce’s, but he was able to block it with his left and land a blow on the luchador’s right cheek. Bruce smiled. This was going to be easy. Or so he thought. Bane used the backwards momentum to launch his arm into Bruce before he was able to block it as it connected with Bruce’s jaw. A grunt of pain left Bruce’s mouth as he took a couple of steps back to steady himself. Bane continued his assault as he landed another punch, this time from his left side onto Bruce’s cheek sending Bruce back another couple of steps. Bane wound his right arm up again and punched Bruce in the abdomen, knocking the wind out of him. Gasping for breath, Bruce found himself backing up further and further from Bane. Bane landed another blow on Bruce’s face. And another. And another. Bruce was being beaten.  
Eventually Bruce was backed against the wall as Bane’s onslaught continued. Having realized that behind him was a wall made of bricks, Bruce ducked down as he saw Bane winding up for another punch. He heard the sound of Bane’s knuckles crack when they collided with the red bricks. This was followed by a howling sound coming from Bane. Bruce took the opportunity to shove the large man back. Bane now stumbled towards Bruce clutching his right hand. He was greeted with a right hook from Bruce and then a left hook to match. A kick to the abdomen and an uppercut connected with the strong chin under his luchador mask sent Bane flying. Bane landed on his back as Bruce ran up to deliver the knock out blow. Bruce crouched down only to feel the impact of Bane’s boot smashing into his face. This fight was not over. Bane slowly rose again, this time leading with right shoulder and crouching closer to the ground. He dove at an off balanced Bruce and tackled him onto the floor. He began whaling on Bruce with his left arm. Between blows Bruce reached down towards his utility belt with his free right hand and grabbed a bat-a-rang. He pulled it from the belt and stabbed it into Bane’s left thigh. Bane yelled in pain as Bruce shoved the strong man off of him. Bruce quickly got to his feet and kicked Bane in the face while he was still on his knees. Bane slumped to the ground after the kick and Bruce ran to grab the fire extinguisher that was now only a few feet away from the two men. He picked up the heavy metal cannister and ran back towards Bane. And just as Bane was lifting his masked head up again, Bruce slammed the fire extinguisher into the right side of Bane’s head, knocking him unconscious in an instant. Bruce let the fire extinguisher fall to the floor and he exhaled deeply.  
“That was close.” Bruce said to himself. He took a second to assess his condition. Bruce did indeed win the fight, but he had taken a few significant hits to the abdomen and a few to the face that now left him with what felt like a black eye and a bleeding mouth. He reached down to his utility belt and grabbed a couple of aspirin pills. He swallowed them, cracked his neck to the left and then the right, and began to head towards the ventilation ducts.


End file.
